


Worse Case Scenarios - Brought to You by Lloyd's Anxiety

by Citron0



Series: LL multiverse [2]
Category: Lego Ninjago, The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017)
Genre: Gen, another fruitless venture for social interaction, more evidence that i cannot be stopped, part of the LL extended universe lmao, something possessed me to write this, yet another story I wrote for me but you can read it too if you want
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:09:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28228920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Citron0/pseuds/Citron0
Summary: What would've been one of the worse ways to be outed as the Green Ninja? Oh, I can think of a few...Takes place in the same base universe as Legally Liable but aslightlydifferent timeline(s).
Relationships: Lloyd Garmadon & Lord Garmadon, Lord Garmadon/Misako (Ninjago)
Series: LL multiverse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2067891
Comments: 21
Kudos: 42





	1. Rocky Start (Part 1)

**Author's Note:**

> This story is meant to be a goofy one-off, ~~but so was Legally Liable.~~ I wanted to reference the black-out Lloyd mentioned in like chapter 6, but it's easier to just say parallel universe instead. Ah, the freedom. *stretches like a cat in a sunbeam*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> plagiarism on Garmadon's part. ended up looking not much like the version in my head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nat 1s all across the board. There's something cathartic about exploring the worst outcomes... was just daydreaming about this concept one day

It was Lloyd's 14th birthday, usually there wasn't much to celebrate in the first place, but he was glad that he could at least share the day with his mom and friends. Today- Today _wasn't_ one of those calmer days, Garmadon was attacking the city again. He had some strange device that drained the power right out of their mechs. Lord Garmadon generously waited until they arrived to make their mechs pretty much useless. Not just their mechs, but the whole city was experiencing a black out. Cole rolled his shoulders and put on a pair of boxing gloves before he started punching tanks. One punch from him caused a deep dent. Out of the six of them, only he could really fight back against the onslaught. Lloyd could launch his missiles manually with a lighter but he only had so many of both-.

* * *

Out of nowhere, some shrapnel ricocheted or maybe it hit him directly, either way, Lloyd was concussed and bleeding out. Garmadon's army began to tow the Green Ninja and his dragon mech into their volcano base, the others were helpless to stop it.

Unmasking the ninja was the first thing the warlord did, not that he recognized the face any. The twerp had a trail of blood that stained his tow blond hair, he wasn't bleeding out any more, but, boy, was he pale. Children, Wu stooped so low for his soldiers. The injury itself had been replaced with a cluster of scabs over the intersection of his scalp and his forehead.

"Who is this child?" He demanded to one of his many scientists.

One with bottle glasses and an afro stepped up, although she still quaked when he made eye-contact, "The f-facial scans sug-suggest that he's your son."

Garmadon approached the concussed teen on the stretcher, opening the elfin-eared boy's mouth with a claw and being met with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth and a forked tongue.

He hummed tasting both pride and disappointment on his lips, "I can see it." How sad the one bullied by the entire city was one of the few that fought to protect it.

"Sir, not to call out a plot hole or anything, but why didn't you just try to sense him with your power instead?" Garmadon didn't humor the General with a response, only with the snap of his fingers that led to the soldier being dragged out to be fired.

"No, no, wait-,"

"Wha-what should we do now, sir?"

He turned his back to leave, "Give him medical treatment; make sure he's given something fairly strong for his pain. The first thing he'll probably try to do is escape, so make sure he can't. We'll need to interrogate him at some point, so squeeze that in somewhere on the schedule." He raised a hand in a half-wave before leaving to the 13th floor not waiting for a reply.

* * *

> Lord Garmadon's face found itself on to everyone's screens only a few hours after Lloyd's capture, "Good evening, denizens of Ninjago. For those who missed it," the image changed to one of the Green Ninja tied up in a chair, "I have your precious Green Ninja. As a message to those who _try_ to oppose me: if you want to see him again, meet me at my volcano without your mechs. All five of you." The image switched back to him, he tapped his cheek twice, "Oh, by the way, Ninjago, I see your best bet was fighting an Oni with another Oni because **guess what!** My son has been the Green Ninja, this whole time!" The displays showed a side-by-side of Lloyd's high school photo on the left and the Green Ninja on the right. "Figures, am I right? This whole time and there he was right in front of me. ~~Must be a sick joke on my father's part for missing his funeral.~~ " The feed returned to Garmadon's almost solemn expression, "You should give up while you're ahead, Ninjago. **I am inevitable. I've won.** "

* * *

There was no sound but the buzz of the lights and the beeps of a heart rate monitor. His ear twitched and the rate of the beeps gradually went up as Lloyd willed himself to open his eyes.

Wherever he was, it was bright. He moved his left hand to cover the light, there was resistance similar to the tug of a string.

His left sleeve was rolled up to make room for the IV that was in his arm, "What?" He looked around from the fluorescent lights to the camera in the corner to the potted plant, he thought he was in a hospital of some kind and was dressed in a hospital gown. The camera stared back at him with blinking LEDs. He didn't remember what he was doing last, but it felt safe there for the moment; even though the lack of windows anywhere was a little unnerving, he fell back into unconsciousness soon after.

* * *

" _La-loyd,_ " a gruff voice he could recognize anywhere sang. He opened his eyes to see Lord Garmadon giving him a calculating stare. His brain tried to enter Ninja mode, not processing the whole, no ninja shawl thing.

Hissing, he scrambled up, "Garmadon!" He tried to get out of his hospital bed and get into a fighting stance as the adrenaline entered his veins, but he was so dizzy that he tumbled back into it a second later. Garmadon pushed him gently back into a proper position.

"Where," his eyes darted around but there wasn't much to look at save for the man in the stool beside him, "Where am I?"

No harm in telling him, "In my medical ward inside of my volcano."

"Volcano," Lloyd repeated with a frown, he had been captured.

Garmadon could never resist the sound of his own voice, "La-loyd, you wouldn't believe how many people get blisters around here." As he found out eventually, most people _aren't_ resistant _or_ immune to fire or intense heat. The General's uniforms had to be outfitted with cooling units attached to the chest plates. It reminded him of a low budget space suit.

"I bet-," He blinked.

"Did- did you just call me La-loyd?" He touched his face experimentally: he patted his forehead then his cheeks then his mouth. Finally ending it with a quiet lick to his hand.

" _Oh_ ," his mask was missing; Garmadon knew his identity- _m_ _ostly._ He wasn't sure why he was saying his name wrong and at that point he honestly didn't care enough to ask.

"Yes, 'oh.'"

"How did I even get here?"

"How do ya think? I confiscated you! You were basically dying anyway: you're welcome."

'I don't owe you anything.'

"I- I meant, _how_ _did this happen_ _?_ "

"Pretty sure you got hit by the debris of one of the explosions."

Lloyd covered his eyes with a sigh and let out a groan, "That's embarrassing." Might just be the most embarrassing way to lose.

Garmadon spoke into a tiny microphone clipped to his scarf, "Dim the lights." Obviously, the lights dimmed after that.

"How long was I out?"

He pulled out his smart phone, "About a day and a half."

"A day!?"

"What did you expect? You got concussed- lost a lot of fluids too."

"Wait- did you, you know, conquer Ninjago?"

"Mm, no. I had to choose between information or a victory I can get tomorrow. Of course, I chose the info."

"Info?"

"Yes, my nerds are having a _field day_ reverse engineering your dragon mech! It's _years_ ahead of what my boys had in the works, and _they went to college_!"

"Oh, no no no, that's not fair!" That was Bad news, with a capital B! If they cracked his hover tech and mass produced it, there'd be no good way to stop them. The only flaw was that it could stall from water clogging it up.

He almost didn't hear what the guy said over his internal screaming, "All's fair in war, kid."

He dragged his hands down from his cheekbones to his chin, " _This has to be the worst day of my life_."

The wannabe father shook his head, holding out an index finger inches from the lad's nose with a wink, "The worst day of your life _so far_."

"Speaking of war, I need you to tell me about your little ninja friends."

"No," he would've crossed his arms but he didn't have the energy for it.

"Fine, fine, but at least tell me about that one ninja who kept punching my tanks _like they were made of tin_."

Lloyd watched him in silence.

"For Instance, why is he able to do that?"

'Trust me, I'm still asking myself that question.'

He supposed that he should at least try to answer, "I dunno, I think his mom could before she got sick?" He looked up at the ceiling, "He doesn't talk about himself much; he's a private person. And even if he wasn't, I'm not gonna share his personal life with you."

"Okay then, how about where do you keep your mechs?"

"I'm not-,"

"Trick question: I already know that! My enginerds were able to use the same frequency your mech uses to find its homing beacon!"

"Then why did you even ask?!" He was seething. Garmadon laughed in his face.

"Maybe I just wanted to see if you were willing to cooperate; regardless if you do or if you don't, you're being held for ransom anyway. (I can't believe I was being thwarted by teenagers this whole time. How ridiculous.)"

"(Not as ridiculous as all this happening because I was hit by a rock.)" ((It's your anxiety, not mine, bucko.))

"If I wasn't drugged up, I'd-," he clenched his fists. What could he do without his mech?

He threw a sloppy punch that Garmadon easily caught, "La-loyd, I get you're angry; I did out you to NGC on a broadcast yesterday-,"

"You **_what_**!? **_Why_**?!" His pride, it had a gaping hole in it or was that his self-esteem? Either way he wanted to cry, not that he would in front of _Lord Garmadon_.

He shrugged, "I had to send a message: evil warlord stuff. Koko didn't like the news either. We had to put the volcano in lock down- _HA_! Never had to do that before!"

'She always knew how to make things fun.' Lloyd only blinked at him in confusion briefly.

"She must be so worried about me. Where's my phone? Where are my clothes?"

' _Honey, have you seen my pants?_ ' He rolled his eyes.

"How did I get into this anyway?" It was awfully breezy down there.

"Well, we weren't sure how long you were going to be unconscious for, so my nerdses- see what I did there; never mind- put a catheter in you."

"A what?"

* * *

_Two minute explanation later..._

* * *

"D'oh, that's so gro-ohss! Can I get it taken out now?"

"Seeing as you can't walk to the bathroom, nope."

He tried to get the images Garmadon described out of his head, grabbing the pillow from behind him and pressing his face into it, " _Urgh_."

"At first, fighting you was just awkward for me, but now it's going to be awkward for the both of us." He chortled impulsively trying to change the subject.

"Who says you're going to be fighting me? You're effectively grounded here until those other ninja _pay off_ your ransom."

"What are you asking them for?"

"A surrender,"

Lloyd stiffened, "They aren't going to agree to that! Isn't there something I can do to-,"

He interrupted him, "Change the terms? You might, I mean, you won't be a hostage any more if you _worked for me_." He twirled his scarf around in his finger liked one would with hair ~~or the curled wire of a landline~~.

" _W-worked for you?_ " Lloyd.exe is not responding.

'How are things still getting worse?!'

"I'm still looking for the perfect General No. 1, my right hand, if I mentor you- you might even get to inherit my empire should... _something_ happen again."

'Again?'

"No, I'm not going to join you. I'd never do that in a million years!"

"I'm laying out your options, La-loyd. You either join me, be a prisoner of war, escape and not be able to return to whatever life you were living before, or wait for me to conquer Ninjago and I claim you by force. So," he held out a hand giving his son a devilish grin, "Do you want to be on the winning team?"

The only sound present in the room was the pops of magma and Lloyd's breathing as he thought, 'What choice do I have?' It was do or die and he did not feel like dying.

He squeezed his eyes shut in a vain attempt to slow the tears and shook the Oni's hand.

Garmadon flicked his tongue before speaking, " _Fantastic_ , we'll make a **warlord** out of you yet."

Lloyd merely looked down at his palm as if it burned him. Was it always black?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 2 would be a sort of speedrun of what happened in LL proper to caught us back to _speed_ lol. I'm gonna sleep on this one though.


	2. This Bites (part 1/?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garmadon uses those teeth for something useful.  
> Takes place in a timeline where everything is the same in LL but it's 2 years in the future and playing out the movie events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest I just had no clue what to do with this. Yes, every one of these will have a pun for the title.

Master Wu had just fallen into the river below.

Garmadon was trapped in the cage, well, he was until he started taking bites of the bamboo and spitting it out.  
"Is he-?"  
"Eating his way out? Yes. We need a plan. Group Huddle!"  
The Ninja gathered around, Lloyd whispered, "What do we know: Garmadon is on Uncle Wu's level and we're nowhere near them,"  
"Oh great, they're level 50 and we're level 2s!" Jay whimpered.   
"We can't give up now, he hasn't eaten his way out of it yet, so we can theoretically lift him up and toss him down the river, then we can follow it to Master Wu."  
They gathered around and hoisted Garmadon into the air, but they couldn't go further than a foot or two. They set it back down with a huff.  
Plan A was a bust, Garmadon was just too heavy.  
"Okay, new plan," they huddled again, "I stall him, part of the reason he came here was to talk to me, so I'll-,"  
"Lloyd, you don't have to do that," Cole stated understanding.  
"No, no, it's my mess, so I'll do the hardest part. I'll distract him: he can't eat if he's talking, that should buy you some time to get a head start or to find Master Wu."  
"One problem with that plan, Lloyd: we need a ninja master."  
"Maybe, if you follow the stream you'll find Master Wu, I don't think that requires too much skill to do, just don't fall into the water too."  
"Ninja-go!" They chanted unanimously before parting ways.  
"Good luck, guys."

* * *

Lloyd tried to calm himself with breathing exercises before approaching Garmadon. He still didn't have any idea what to say to him, "Um, hey, Garmadon," he held on to his arm.  
"La-loyd, are you going to let me out?"  
"I think you got that covered, I," he sat down on the bridge, "I just have to wait out the clock for my friends, even if they don't want to be my friends for what I did."  
"You mean firing the Ultimate Weapon? I don't think it was your fault that you didn't know it was a beacon." It would be easy to absolve himself of responsibility, but he fired it, he chose to do it. He chose to end his father's life.   
"We both thought it was a laser from how it looked. It was an honest mistake."  
"Even so, I, the intention was there. What you said back there," he swallowed, "you were right. This is my fault. I have to make it right."  
"If we're on the topic of what we said back in Ninjago City. There was something you said to me," he hummed poking his chin, "what was it?"  
"'I wish you weren't my father.'" Lloyd deadpanned.  
"Yes, that's it. Do you maybe want to, I don't know, un-say it?"   
Lloyd stood up crossing his arms and turning his back to the cage, "No, I'd give anything to be literally anyone else's kid. I get treated like trash everyday just because I'm related to you. I can't go shopping, I can't go to the movies, I can't go to barber shop; so my mom has to cut my hair." He turned around, "It's all your fault for trying to conquer the Ninjago all the time! Anything resembling a normal childhood had been robbed from me," he bared his sharp teeth, his mind flashing back to all the times people gave him sour looks or bullied him for having the audacity to be born, "when you came to town and decided to be a super villain over being my dad!" He wiped his eyes, green plumes of flame danced on his gloves. He pressed them down to put them out. This is why he should've rehearsed this conversation, too poignant.  
Garmadon was in stunned silence for a moment. Lloyd deeply considered leaving him there, like how Garmadon left him and his mom, but that wasn't part of the plan. Leaving Garmadon meant allowing him to run amok, like that, he'd definitely get there first.  
"I never got to have a dad, but I've been punished in your stead. I've wanted nothing more since I was like six to be treated like a normal kid. It's not fair that I'm always forced to be associated with you. You don't pay child support, I don't get your insurance benefits; I've never even met you outside of my job as the Green Ninja. You never tried, did you?"  
'You never cared either, not until I said something that got under your skin.'  
"'I want the city, I want the sushi restaurant, I want my guitar back,' never anything else. What if I wasn't a ninja and you blew me up with a part of the city or my mom? How many years would it take for you to notice we were dead? You didn't even know my birthday, why would you, right? You didn't care."  
"La-loyd, you've got it wrong, your mother was the one who left me, not the other way around."  
"Same difference," it really didn't change that much.  
"I did want to know what type of person you grew up to be."  
"You thought I was seven on the phone."  
"Time's a blur when you're as old as me."  
"Speaking of the phone call, would you have called again if we weren't forced to interact like this?"  
"I, uh, probably not."  
"Exactly my point. Not sure why I thought you were capable of anything else."  
'I wonder what would've happened had I killed you.' He imagined the mayor handing him a key to the city, people heralding Lloyd as a hero. His mom might be a little disappointed in her boy being a murderer, but the threat would be gone. Ninjago would be safe? It's not like he would go mad with power or anything, he could just live as, not a normal boy, per se, but he'd be treated like a citizen which was more than he was getting concurrently. Sure, he had been more than willing to spare him had he just given up, but peace wasn't always an option.  
"I meant, 'probably not right away,'" he added, trying to cover his bases, "After I conquered the city, I would've had my nerds hack your phone and track it."  
"That's a massive invasion of privacy."  
"So? I'd be paying attention to you- vaguely- isn't that what you wanted?"  
Lloyd couldn't hold himself back anymore and punched the cage with an inhuman look in his eyes, "You don't get it at all! No wonder Mom left you." He would've stuffed his hands in his pockets but their ninja slacks didn't have any. He stormed off to the nearest bamboo tree to attack while still being able to see the cage.  
"How are you so calm!?" He yelled from across the bridge.  
Garmadon had been uncharacteristically quiet, but really he was just laser focused on eating his way out. Lloyd clearly had some issues due to the abuse his hometown* had dealt him. But, it was Garmadon's fault too. It would've been easy enough to contact Koko, but he didn't know how to go about talking to her. She left for a reason, and it's not like that reason magically went away. Garmadon oftentimes did not see himself as needing to change, but he did if he wanted them back in his life through any other method than by force. He dislodged one column, it was still too narrow for him to crawl out of.  
"Aren't you mad you're in a cage?"  
"A bit, but it's not like you did it." He chuckled, "And Wu got his just desserts."   
He took another bite, "Bleh, speaking of desserts, bamboo is awful! It's like celery and sawdust."  
Lloyd laughed despite himself, picking up on the lighter tones.  
"How do pandas stand it? Eugh!" Garmadon elaborated only to make Lloyd guffaw. That boy needed to feel other emotions than anger, he'd burst a vessel like that.  
On the topic of other emotions, Lord Garmadon stepped out in all of his topless glory.  
'Shit,' he backed up more and more. Garmadon's body was about to start rushing toward him like a bull.  
'Oh, geez.'  
Like someone about to make the incorrect move regarding a wolf, Lloyd booked it, 'Shit, shit, shit, shit!' they sprinted in respect to each other. ((That's math speak for they ran from/to the other))  
Claws snagging on the back of his gi, Lloyd was lifted a meter in the air, "Gotcha! Where do you think you're going?"  
"To Uncle Wu?"  
"Nope! You and I are going to get that Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon first."  
"You know the way?"  
The Landscape couldn't've changed that much in a century and a half, "Yeah," he said confidently, "a shortcut too."  
"I guess you would know," Lloyd mumbled, "Since you came out here just by yourself."  
"Darn tootin'."

* * *

“Students? What are you doing here?”

Jay blurted, “ _ We couldn’t do it _ !”

“We needed a ninja master; we have  _ no idea _ where the temple is.”

“Wait, where’s Lloyd?”

“He volunteered to stay behind and watch Garmadon.”

“He was eating his way out of the cage.”

“Eating his...,” Wu looked to the bridge barely visible from the riverbed, “We have to go back to the bridge, Garmadon might have escaped already.”

* * *

No one was waiting for them. it was evident by the bite marks that Garmadon had run off already– with  _ Lloyd _ .

* * *

Earlier, “If you know where it is, why didn’t you just fly there in one of your mechs?”

Garmadon let out a huff in frustration, “That place is so unstable, just landing could cause an avalanche, besides,” he gripped Lloyd’s hand in an attempt to make him walk faster, “I would’ve had to skip reuniting with you, and it would’ve taken the fun out of it. I got to wallop Wu,” he purred catching Lloyd of guard. 

“I’ll tell  ya , that doesn’t happen every day, not even every  _ decade _ !” 

((For some reason this line made me lose my  train of thought indefinitely.))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 
>      I CANNOT BE CONTAINED


	3. A real Hack n' Slash (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Walking home from the docks alone wasn't the wisest choice when everyone in Ninjago City hates you.  
> (Would've taken place a few days/weeks before Garmadon planned to wreck the economy.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 
>     Hello again. 
> 
> Let's just call this an ambush.

The walk home from the warehouse after a Garmadon attack was routine. He was clad in his civilian clothes with his bag slung loosely over a shoulder. It was an easy fight: most of them had taken their 15-minute break when Garmadon chose to attack, so he was hilariously understaffed. It was still daylight out because of that; he had planned to go home since school was cancelled for the day, but fate had other plans for him. ~~When did it not?~~

He was scrolling on his phone when he bumped into someone he'd soon classify as a thug, "Hey, isn't that Garmadon's brat?" The man said hollering to his colleagues knowing the answer already. Lloyd was rather infamous for the simple act of being born.

There had to be around six of them circling around him like a wake of vultures, "It is!"

One of them pulled a knife out of his jean pocket, "Why, won't it be for the _greater good_ if we nip this one in the bud?" They herded Lloyd closer and closer to the water's edge.

He couldn't fight them, it could reveal his secret identity, "Can't we just talk about this?"

Talking over him, another replied, "Yeah, one Garmadon is bad, can you imagine two?" At the sound of the word Garmadon, one of his dock guards looked up from his newspaper.

"There'd be nothing left!"

"No one's gonna miss him anyway, the demon spawn." Suddenly, they all had knives out.

He tried to run, but he ended up getting stabbed in the chest, just over his appendix. Someone stabbed him again in his right shoulder. Thick purple blood stained his shirt and hoodie as it gushed out of his wounds.

"Oni scum," the one who stabbed him scoffed before kicking him into the water. The saltwater burned as it entered his incisions. His blood drifted to the surface like globs of oil. The sound of a gun being fired scared off the goons.

All he could do was gasp for air as someone pulled him out, "Are you okay?"

"No," the dude had called his General, General No. 14, regarding the color of the Boss's blood.

"It's a purple, he got a paper cut once during a meeting. Why?" She wore a pink puffer fish helmet and had an eye patch over her left eye.

"I think I found his kid. He's bleeding purple, what should I do?" He turned the phone around since they were FaceTiming showing a pale Lloyd.

"Bring him in, idiot! Know what? I'll come to you! Stay put, and make sure Lil' Garmadon there doesn't die."

"Got it!" She hung up on him as she sprinted to her submarine.

The man in the beanie and the five o'clock shadow, applied pressure to the gashes as best he could, "It'll be okay. Stay with me, don't fall asleep!"

His eyes were a nice brown with flecks of green, "You're gonna be okay, don't fall asleep! They'll kill me if you die, don't fall asleep! Please!"

Lloyd panted as he heard the submarine cap surface, "Keep guard, soldier. I'll take the kid," said General No. 14.

He helped her get Lloyd inside, "Keep up the good work," was all she told him before rushing to the medical ward.

"You'll be fine, rest now." Lloyd didn't want to, but he was so drained. He passed out.

"Who's that with you," asked a fishbowl wearing General No. 20, his vision was being partially obscured from the kelp decals on his helmet.

"The Boss's kid," she uttered through a grimace.

* * *

"From what we can tell, the patient is your son."

"La-loyd? You've treated his injuries? What happened to him anyhow?" The cut areas had blackened skin. His stomach had a bruise. The warlord's stomach was tying itself into knots in an act of vicarious sympathy. He had stitches in place, but he still needed more blood than he was making.

"Yes and according to the eyewitness, he was stabbed- twice. Sir, He's going to need a blood transfusion from you. He isn't producing hemoglobin; he uses hemerythrin like you, Lord Garmadon." The doctor read off the clipboard with a bow.

"Do we know why he was stabbed? Also, that's fine, I have plenty of blood. ~~I just hope there isn't any condensed evil still in my system~~." He held out his arm as the nurse/phlebotomist drew out a few vials and connected them to Lloyd's IV.

"F-for being your son," answered the assistant.

"I see, then it's going to happen again, isn't it?" He directed his question toward the doctor.

She commented calmly, "That is uncertain."

"It is! They'll do it again, that's how hate crimes work! How can we be sure that he'll be safe in Ninjago City? What was he even doing?" He needed to talk to Koko about this, she needed to know Lloyd was with him and alive.

"According to his phone activity, he was going to go grocery shopping," she pushed up her glasses reflecting the light back at him.

"Alone? How much money did he have?"

"6035 nen," yes, they did look through his backpack to confirm his identity. That wasn't a lot; food should be free.

He took out his wallet, he handed her two 10 thousand nen bills, "Give him these."

"Yes, sir."

He placed a hand on Lloyd's cheek as the color slowly returned to it, "My son, this was not how I ever dreamed of meeting you."

* * *

When her phone rang, it was 7:30p.m., the sun was setting. She answered any calls hoping one would be from Lloyd.

"Hello?"

"Kokes?"

"Garm, why are _you_ calling?"

"Long story short, one of my guys saw La-loyd get stabbed-,"

"What!?"

"-Twice. Anyway, he's recovering now. Gave him some of my blood, the works. He's sleeping still. I'm not sure how safe it is for him to be by himself. I think 2 or 3 of my Generals should guard him."

"Lloyd is an independent boy, he won't like that."

"You know what else he wouldn't like? Being **stabbed** \- _again_! He should stay with me-,"

"You don't have custody over him, Garm," she growled.

"Ju-just until he's better- where he's safe!"

"You have a point,"

"Yeah, I've-,"

"Not about that," she ground out, "I should probably teach him self-defense. He needs to be able to defend himself. I've been babying him- look what happened."

"It's not your fault, what was La-loyd doing in the docks?"

"The docks? That's nowhere near where we live!"

"Guess we have something to talk about with him when he wakes up,"

"You don't think he's doing drugs, do you? Lloyd's a good boy!"

"You can't deny that he was certainly up to something."

She sighed, "I'll come by after my shift is done."

* * *

Someone was poking his cheek, "La-loyd? Psst, La-loyd, wake up."

"My name's Lloyd,"

"It's La-loyd, I made sure there were two L's n' everything." Who was he talking to? He didn't have the strength to open his eyes, so he fumbled his left arm about until he landed on something, which was nothing yet. His right arm, however, he placed a hand on it to squeeze. He remembered...

his hand was snatched up, "No no, don't do that! Be mindful of your stitches, La-loyd."

"I remember!" He shot upright, "I was stabbed! Ow," his stomach didn't like him doing that. He opened his eyes to see Lord Garmadon sitting in a little chair holding his hand. Lloyd tried to pull it away from him, but he kept his grip firm.

"Garmadon?" He glanced down at the IV in his right arm.

He racked his brain for answers as he took in the hospital-like environment, "How- did I- get here?" He asked in fragments.

"One of my Generals brought you in. I must admit, I'm a little curious what you were doing so far from home, care to share?"

"Oh, um, things?"

' _Ninja_ things that I should _probably_ keep from you.'

He rolled his eyes at the non-answer, "I'm sure. I was hoping you'd be willing to tell your old man if you were up to anything _nefarious_ , but I guess we can have this intervention with your mother."

'My old man-,'

"I was just taking the long way home,"

"Why would you that?"

"I like how the city looks at sunset?"

"Doesn't **everyone** _despise_ you? You're making yourself a target!"

He snarled, "If you actually cared, you'd stop attacking the city!"

Daft, Garmadon tapped his fingertips together pointing them outward after the first word, " _So,_ is it drugs?"

" ** _No!_** "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Lloyd totally screamed that on the top of his lungs lmao~~  
>  Totally not an excuse to define the blood of Oni or to show more of Garm and Kokes interacting.  
> ((I'm writing this directly into ao3 for some reason, I can't just leave this in my drafts forever...))


	4. [Witty Pun] (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deviates from Chapter 1 of Legally Liable, Lloyd tells Garmadon the truth. Wreally throws a wrench in things.  
>  ~~will probably extend at a later date~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 
>     I was supposed to be doing something else, but HA! Got possessed to write this little ditty while pacing.

"'...Please take good care of him, Garm,'" The paper crinkled in his hands, "'Signed, Koko.'" A lot of emotions were being felt in that instant, but the only one his body would let him act on was anger.

He glowered at the paper before crushing it into a ball, "Hey!" Garmadon didn't have time to react before the Green Ninja shoved it into his chest.

'I guess it's just paper.'

Sadness and betrayal took him over, he sniffled, what was he supposed to do now?

'What do _I_ want to do?'

> _"Some things in life have no right or wrong choices, each lead to their own paths. Which path do you wish to walk, Nephew?"_
> 
> _"The one that stops Garmadon before he does some serious damage." Wu glanced to the volcano, forlorn._
> 
> _"I wonder, Lloyd, if you will the choose a road that only a son of Garmadon can walk. It pains me to see you without balance in your life."_
> 
> _He harrumphed, hugging his arms, "It's not like that's my fault."_
> 
> _"Perhaps not, but which path will serve you more: one of lies or one of truths? Before I depart, I'll leave you with this: sometimes the greatest sacrifices reap the greatest rewards."_

' _Oh_ , I'm gonna regret this,'

"Wait," the way he held onto the lapels of Lord Garmadon's cape reminded him of a lost child, "um, there's something I should probably tell you," he let go to fiddle with the fabric of his gi.

"You don't need to go looking for Lloyd, he's-," he swallowed, was this really the best decision? Could he still back out?

He shook his head, 'No, best to do this now, while it's still _my_ choice to make.'

He took off his mask, "-right here," he gave him a tearful smile, " _Dad_."

* * *

Dumbstruck, his jaw dropped, "La-loyd? Is that really you?"

"Yes," his son, in arms reach.

"My arch-nemesis, the Green Ninja, my own son. This is heavy."

"I won't stop trying to stop you, Ninjago City is my home!"

"You can have more than one home, you don't have to be committed to _just the one_." He waved his wrists around in circles, "There are summer homes, vacation homes, beach houses-," he listed off on his fingers, "-that log cabin rich people stay at during the winter, oh, and lake houses!"

Lloyd eyed him carefully, noticing how he was inching closer to him.

"To think, I spent _all_ this time trying to conquer the city, and you've been stopping me all along. Why didn't you tell me? We could've done more stuff together than just blow things up, _but if that's your fancy_ -?" Lloyd glare softened.

"Being the Green Ninja," he looked down at his shawl, "It was the best part of living in Ninjago City. It was the only time where people liked me, where they respected me, they loved me. As _Lloyd Garmadon_ , the only thing that happens is that I get pushed around and _blamed_ for all the things you did. _'Thanks, Lloyd!'_ " he imitated, his temper rising, "It's _so_ annoying, _'Thanks, Lloyd,'_ it happens _every_ _day._ I-," wait, why was he venting to his father?

Unsure of what to say to that, he comments, "Sounds like you should get a volcano, kid." He ignored him.

" **The point is:** that time is over. They aren't going to respect me as a hero anymore and I can't even go back to- there's no normalcy anymore. I can't- if I'm living with you, I can't imagine how everyone would treat me _before_ they all found out that I'm the Green Ninja."

"What's supposed to happen?" He covered his eyes with a glove, he was enveloped in a hug.

"Well, how about a truce until we can figure that part out. I'll be honest, I'm not _super_ comfortable with fighting my own son."

"I," he blinked, "but, isn't this the part where I'm locked up and you conquer Ninjago?"

"Do you want to be locked up?"

"No, no,"

"I have _other_ priorities than just conquering Ninjago."

"I beg a differ."

"I do! ~~They're usually on the back-burner but still~~."

"I'll believe that when you go a week without attacking the city."

"Is that a challenge?"

He raised an eyebrow at him, " _Maybe?_ "

If he could stall long enough for the others to recover, then maybe they could stand a chance against Garmadon, _without him._

"I know you're playing me, but," he clapped, "you're on!"

Lloyd let out a sigh of relief and gave his friends a shaky thumbs up getting responses that varied from, "You're an idiot, Lloyd," to "Don't die."

**Author's Note:**

> If you like it and want more of these terrible timelines, then, by all means, comment. ~~I live for those things.~~


End file.
